Mueller team to introduce evidence that for the first time ties Trump campaign to Paul Manafort's charges

By Chris Sommerfeldt

Jul 06, 2018 | 8:50 PM

Special counsel Robert Mueller intends to present evidence at Paul Manafort’s trial later this month that will for the first time connect some of the charges he’s facing with his role in President Trump’s campaign chairman, according to a court filing Friday.

Special counsel Robert Mueller plans to present evidence at Paul Manafort’s trial later this month that will for the first time connect some of the charges he’s facing with his role in President Trump’s campaign, according to a court filing Friday.

The ex-Trump campaign chairman’s Virginia trial on bank and tax fraud charges is slated to begin on July 25. Prosecutors working for Mueller said in the Friday filing they will introduce evidence at that trial showing a banking executive helped Manafort secure more than $6 million in loans while simultaneously trying to get a job on the Trump campaign.

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Paul Manafort attends a Yankees game in October 2017. His charges mostly relate to pro-Kremlin lobbying work he did for ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. (Howard Simmons/New York Daily News)

The banker “expressed interest in working on the Trump campaign, told (Manafort) about his interest, and eventually secured a position advising the Trump campaign,” the filing states.

The unidentified banking executive also “expressed interest in serving in the administration of President Trump, but did not secure such a position,” according to the Mueller team.

Special counsel Robert Mueller arrives at the U.S. Capitol for a closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee last June. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Manafort, 69, obtained the loans under dubious circumstances, and Mueller’s prosecutors say they intend to show the banking executive only approved them because of his personal stake in the Trump campaign.

“Here, it would be difficult for the jury to understand why the loans were approved without understanding that the lender approved the loans, in spite of the identified deficiencies, because the senior executive factored in his own personal ambition,” the Muller prosecutors charged in the filing.

Manafort’s attorneys have previously asked Judge T.S. Ellis to keep details about his ties to Trump out of his trial, arguing it could have undue influence on jurors.

Manafort is separately facing a trial in Washington, D.C., this September on a laundry list of charges, including conspiracy against the U.S., failure to register as a foreign agent and money laundering.

The charges in both courts mostly relate to pro-Kremlin lobbying work Manafort did for ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The latest Mueller filing contrasts some of Trump’s recent statements.

Since Manafort was sent to jail last month pending his trials, Trump has tried to distance himself from his former campaign head, saying he had “nothing” to with his White House bid. Trump has also downplayed the charges against Manafort, saying they are unrelated to his time on the campaign.